1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,690 Steve Webb: When you reject the essentials, you cannot honestly 2 00:00:03,690 --> 00:00:05,460 still be a Christian. 3 00:00:13,310 --> 00:00:15,890 Hi there, this is the Lifespring! One Year Bible 4 00:00:15,890 --> 00:00:19,280 coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:24,170 2004. I'm your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily 6 00:00:24,170 --> 00:00:27,290 podcast where we're reading through the entire Bible in a 7 00:00:27,290 --> 00:00:30,770 year. How are you? It's Psalms Wednesday, and we'll read 8 00:00:30,770 --> 00:00:35,660 chapters 66 through 68. Before reading each chapter, I'll give 9 00:00:35,660 --> 00:00:40,130 you a short introduction. I'm calling this episode essentials. 10 00:00:40,670 --> 00:00:43,400 Being Wednesday, we'll have a time for prayer requests, and I 11 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,550 have a new segment on today's show as well. The title of 12 00:00:46,550 --> 00:00:50,690 today's show is a hint. Let's get started with a prayer. Our 13 00:00:50,690 --> 00:00:53,390 heavenly Father, how are we thank you for this time. I thank 14 00:00:53,390 --> 00:00:56,090 You, Lord, for the Psalms. I thank You, Lord for the praises 15 00:00:56,090 --> 00:01:00,230 that it teaches us how to do and I asked you Lord today to just 16 00:01:00,230 --> 00:01:03,830 open our hearts, open our eyes and teach us I pray this in 17 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:07,730 Jesus name. Amen. Are you ready? Let's begin. 18 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:15,080 The title of Psalm 66 is for the choir director of song, a psalm. 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,760 This is the first psalm since Psalm 50 That is not credited to 20 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:25,610 David, Daniel Cresswell, who lived from 1776 to 1844, and was 21 00:01:25,610 --> 00:01:30,320 a clergyman and mathematician wrote of Psalm 66. This Psalm is 22 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:34,280 said to be recited on Easter Day by the Greek church. It is 23 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,480 described in the Greek Bible as a Psalm of the resurrection, and 24 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,900 may be understood to refer in a prophetic sense to the 25 00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:45,020 regeneration of the world through the conversion of the 26 00:01:45,020 --> 00:01:45,920 Gentiles. 27 00:01:47,750 --> 00:01:53,750 Psalms chapter 66. Shout happily to God all the earth, make music 28 00:01:53,750 --> 00:01:58,100 to praise the glory of his name, make his praise glorious, say to 29 00:01:58,100 --> 00:02:02,600 God, how awe inspiring are your deeds. Your power is so great 30 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,750 that your enemies will cringe in front of you. The whole earth 31 00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:09,380 will worship you. It will make music to praise you. It will 32 00:02:09,380 --> 00:02:13,340 make music to praise your name. C'est la vie. Come and see what 33 00:02:13,340 --> 00:02:17,930 God has done his awe inspiring deeds for Adam's descendants. He 34 00:02:17,930 --> 00:02:21,740 turned the sea into dry land, they crossed the river on foot. 35 00:02:22,070 --> 00:02:26,180 We rejoiced because of what he did there. He rules forever with 36 00:02:26,180 --> 00:02:30,380 his might. His eyes watch the nation's rebels will not be able 37 00:02:30,380 --> 00:02:35,210 to oppose him. Selah. Thank our God you nations make the sound 38 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:38,930 of his praise heard. He has kept us alive and has not allowed us 39 00:02:38,930 --> 00:02:43,370 to fall. You have tested us, oh God, you have refined us in the 40 00:02:43,370 --> 00:02:47,900 same way silver as refined. You have trapped us in a net. You 41 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:51,440 have laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our 42 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,220 heads. We went through fire and water, but then you brought us 43 00:02:55,220 --> 00:02:59,120 out and refreshed us. I will come into your temple with burnt 44 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,500 offerings. I will keep my vows to you. The vows made by my lips 45 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:07,460 and spoken by my own mouth when I was in trouble. I will offer 46 00:03:07,460 --> 00:03:10,640 you a sacrifice of fattened livestock for burnt offerings 47 00:03:10,850 --> 00:03:15,590 with the smoke from rams, I will offer cattle and goats Sayla. 48 00:03:16,370 --> 00:03:19,940 Come and listen all who fear God and I will tell you what he has 49 00:03:19,940 --> 00:03:24,080 done for me. With my mouth, I cried out to him. High praise 50 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,290 was on my tongue. If I had thought about doing anything 51 00:03:27,290 --> 00:03:30,920 sinful, the Lord would not have listened to me. But God has 52 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:35,120 heard me he has paid attention to my prayer. Thanks be to God 53 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,900 who has not rejected my prayer or taken away his mercy from me. 54 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,170 The title of Psalm 67 is to the chief musician on stringed 55 00:03:45,170 --> 00:03:49,730 instruments, a psalm, a song. Interestingly, Martin Luther 56 00:03:49,730 --> 00:03:54,560 wrote an extensive five volume commentary on the Psalms, yet he 57 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,180 wrote nothing on this one. It is short and the writers desire is 58 00:03:59,180 --> 00:04:03,770 to follow God's way to see salvation from God, and for all 59 00:04:03,770 --> 00:04:05,300 the earth to praise Him. 60 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:12,380 Psalms chapter 67. May God show loving kindness toward us and 61 00:04:12,380 --> 00:04:17,480 bring good to us? May he make his face shine upon us? May your 62 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,080 way be known on the earth, and you're saving power among all 63 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,790 nations? May the people praise you, oh, God, may all the people 64 00:04:25,790 --> 00:04:30,740 praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you 65 00:04:30,740 --> 00:04:34,160 will be fair when you judge the people and rule the nations of 66 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,540 the earth. May the people praise you Oh God, may all the people 67 00:04:38,540 --> 00:04:43,220 praise you. The Earth has given its fruit. God, our God will 68 00:04:43,220 --> 00:04:47,660 bring good to us. God will bring good to us and all the ends of 69 00:04:47,660 --> 00:04:49,280 the earth will FEAR Him. 70 00:04:50,930 --> 00:04:55,460 The title of Psalm 68 is for the choir director of song by David 71 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:00,320 a song. Many commentators think that Psalm 68 is related into a 72 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,590 time when the Ark of the Covenant came into Jerusalem. As 73 00:05:03,590 --> 00:05:07,070 we read about in the Second Samuel chapter six. It 74 00:05:07,070 --> 00:05:10,400 celebrates the coming of the ark in in God's faithfulness in 75 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,300 giving victory to Israel over their enemies in thereby making 76 00:05:14,300 --> 00:05:18,260 it possible for the Ark to come to Jerusalem. This is a 77 00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:23,180 difficult song. Commentator Adam Clarke wrote, I know not how to 78 00:05:23,180 --> 00:05:27,200 undertake a comment on this song. It is the most difficult 79 00:05:27,230 --> 00:05:28,730 in the whole Psalter. 80 00:05:31,070 --> 00:05:36,110 Psalms chapter 68. God will arise his enemies will be 81 00:05:36,110 --> 00:05:40,400 scattered. Those who hate him will flee from him. blow them 82 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,360 away like smoke. Let wicked people melt in God's presence 83 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,860 like wax next to a fire but let righteous people rejoice. Let 84 00:05:48,860 --> 00:05:52,460 them celebrate in God's presence. Let them overflow with 85 00:05:52,460 --> 00:05:57,950 joy. sing to God, make music to praise his name. Make a highway 86 00:05:57,950 --> 00:06:01,520 for him to ride through the deserts. The Lord is his name, 87 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:06,350 celebrate His presence. The God who is in His holy place is the 88 00:06:06,350 --> 00:06:10,760 father of the fatherless and the defender of widows. God places 89 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,450 lonely people in families, he leads prisoners out of prison 90 00:06:14,450 --> 00:06:18,470 into productive lives. But rebellious people must live in 91 00:06:18,470 --> 00:06:22,310 an unproductive land. Oh God when you went in front of your 92 00:06:22,310 --> 00:06:27,230 people, when you marched through the desert Sayla the earthquake 93 00:06:27,380 --> 00:06:31,070 and the sky poured in the presence of the god of Sinai in 94 00:06:31,070 --> 00:06:34,820 the presence of the God of Israel. You watered the land 95 00:06:34,820 --> 00:06:38,420 with plenty of rain. Oh god, you refreshed it when your land was 96 00:06:38,420 --> 00:06:42,590 exhausted. Your flock settled there, out of your goodness, oh 97 00:06:42,590 --> 00:06:46,580 God, you provided for oppressed people. The Lord gives 98 00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:50,120 instructions. The women who announced the good news are a 99 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:54,650 large army. They say the kings of the armies flee, they run 100 00:06:54,650 --> 00:06:58,880 away. The women who remained at home will divide the goods. 101 00:06:59,030 --> 00:07:02,330 Though you stayed among the sheep pins, you will be like the 102 00:07:02,330 --> 00:07:06,170 wings of a dove covered with silver, its feathers with yellow 103 00:07:06,170 --> 00:07:09,980 gold. Meanwhile, the Almighty was still scattering kings, 104 00:07:09,980 --> 00:07:14,030 they're like snow falling on Mount Zalman. The mountain of 105 00:07:14,030 --> 00:07:17,630 Batian is the mountain of God. The mountain of Batian is the 106 00:07:17,630 --> 00:07:21,680 mountain with many peaks. Why do you look with envy you mountains 107 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,430 with many peaks at the mountain where God has chosen to live? 108 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,500 Certainly the Lord will live there forever. The chariots of 109 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:36,020 God are 20,000 in number 1000s upon 1000s. The Lord is among 110 00:07:36,020 --> 00:07:40,460 them. The God of Sinai is in His holy place. You went to the 111 00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:44,540 highest place, you took prisoners captive, you receive 112 00:07:44,570 --> 00:07:48,290 gifts from people, even from rebellious people, so that the 113 00:07:48,290 --> 00:07:53,360 Lord God may live there. Thanks be to the Lord who daily carries 114 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:59,060 our burdens forests. God is our salvation, Save Our God is the 115 00:07:59,060 --> 00:08:03,080 God of victories. The Almighty Lord is our escape from death. 116 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:07,370 Certainly, God will crush the heads of his enemies and destroy 117 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,420 even the hair on the heads of those who continue to be guilty. 118 00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:15,860 The Lord said, I will bring them back from vacation, I will bring 119 00:08:15,860 --> 00:08:19,040 them back from the depths of the sea so that you my people may 120 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,400 bathe your feet in blood, and the tongues of your dogs may 121 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,690 lick the blood of your enemies. Your festival processions Oh God 122 00:08:26,870 --> 00:08:30,860 can be seen by everyone. They are the processions for my God, 123 00:08:31,010 --> 00:08:35,750 my king into the holy place. The singers are in front, the 124 00:08:35,750 --> 00:08:39,380 musicians are behind them. The young women beating tambourines 125 00:08:39,380 --> 00:08:43,700 are between them. Thank God the Lord, the source of Israel with 126 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:48,710 the choirs. Benjamin The youngest is leading them. Next, 127 00:08:48,740 --> 00:08:52,910 the leaders of Judah with their noisy crowds, then the leaders 128 00:08:52,910 --> 00:08:58,220 of Zebulun then the leaders of Naphtali. Your God is decided 129 00:08:58,220 --> 00:09:02,390 you will be strong. Display your strength oh god as you have for 130 00:09:02,390 --> 00:09:06,620 us before. Kings will bring you gifts because of your temple 131 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,190 high above Jerusalem, threatened the beast who is among the 132 00:09:10,190 --> 00:09:14,600 cattails, the herd of bulls with the calves of the nation's until 133 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,890 it humbles itself with pieces of silver. Scattered the people who 134 00:09:18,890 --> 00:09:23,630 find joy in war, Ambassadors will come from Egypt, Sudan will 135 00:09:23,630 --> 00:09:27,260 stretch out its hands to God in prayer. You kingdoms of the 136 00:09:27,260 --> 00:09:33,500 world sing to God, make music to praise the Lord Sayla God rides 137 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:37,370 through the ancient heaven, the highest heaven. Listen, he makes 138 00:09:37,370 --> 00:09:41,600 his voice heard his powerful voice acknowledged the power of 139 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,670 God. His Majesty is over Israel and His power is in the skies. 140 00:09:46,970 --> 00:09:52,280 God, the God of Israel is all inspiring in his holy place. He 141 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,450 gives strength and power to his people. Thanks be to God. 142 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:02,330 Psalm 66 opens with a call All to all the earth to praise God 143 00:10:02,330 --> 00:10:05,570 because of his awesome in the truest sense of the word all 144 00:10:05,570 --> 00:10:10,040 inspiring, is awesome deeds. It even gives a sample of what 145 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,030 should be said to God, how are inspiring are your deeds, your 146 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:17,090 power is so great that your enemies will cringe in front of 147 00:10:17,090 --> 00:10:20,810 you, the whole earth will worship you. It will make music 148 00:10:20,810 --> 00:10:25,340 to praise you, it will make music to praise your name. Well, 149 00:10:25,340 --> 00:10:28,790 of course, all of this is true. God is worthy of the praise of 150 00:10:28,790 --> 00:10:32,000 the whole world. And most of this Psalms gives various 151 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,810 reasons to give him worship. And I can hardly help but say yes 152 00:10:35,810 --> 00:10:40,820 and amen as I read them. But the last five verses of chapter 66 153 00:10:40,850 --> 00:10:44,510 are a bit different. Let me read it to you again. Come and listen 154 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:48,170 all who fear God and I will tell you what he has done for me. 155 00:10:48,350 --> 00:10:51,920 With my mouth, I cried out to him high praise was on my 156 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,580 tongue. If I had thought about doing anything sinful, the Lord 157 00:10:55,580 --> 00:10:59,930 would not have listened to me. But God has heard me he has paid 158 00:10:59,930 --> 00:11:03,950 attention to my prayer. Thanks be to God who has not rejected 159 00:11:03,950 --> 00:11:08,150 my prayer or taken away his mercy from me. Did you notice 160 00:11:08,150 --> 00:11:10,730 where the Psalm was said there if I had thought about doing 161 00:11:10,730 --> 00:11:14,090 anything sinful, the Lord would not have listened to me. And he 162 00:11:14,090 --> 00:11:17,720 was right. Have you ever thought about the fact that God is not 163 00:11:17,750 --> 00:11:22,550 obligated to listen to every prayer? Proverbs 28 Nine says, 164 00:11:22,790 --> 00:11:26,360 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his 165 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:31,160 prayer is an abomination. In Job when speaking of the wicked says 166 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:35,960 in Job 27 Nine, will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon 167 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,530 him? Of course, the implied answer to that is No, God will 168 00:11:39,530 --> 00:11:43,730 not hear his cry. Sometimes God will listen to the prayer of an 169 00:11:43,730 --> 00:11:47,750 unbeliever if the prayer is in alignment with his will. And 170 00:11:47,750 --> 00:11:51,110 there are many examples of this in the Bible. But an unbeliever 171 00:11:51,110 --> 00:11:56,690 should have no expectation that God will hear them. But now it's 172 00:11:56,690 --> 00:12:00,680 different for Christians. Listen to Hebrews four verses 14 173 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:04,790 through 16. Since then, we have a great high priest who has 174 00:12:04,790 --> 00:12:08,540 passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us 175 00:12:08,540 --> 00:12:12,380 hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is 176 00:12:12,380 --> 00:12:15,920 unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every 177 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:21,260 respect, has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us 178 00:12:21,260 --> 00:12:24,890 then with confidence, draw nearer to the throne of grace, 179 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,880 that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of 180 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,940 need. And beloved, there are many other promises for 181 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:35,840 believers concerning prayers. It's because of God's great 182 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,500 mercy and grace that He invites us to come to Him in prayer. 183 00:12:39,950 --> 00:12:43,910 Yes, we can come to him in confidence. But we should also 184 00:12:43,910 --> 00:12:46,760 come with reverence and awe knowing that Jesus paid a 185 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:54,470 tremendous price to bring that mercy and grace to us. What are 186 00:12:54,470 --> 00:12:57,830 your thoughts? You have any questions? Any comments, call 187 00:12:57,830 --> 00:13:04,160 the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 19517328511. You can also 188 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,750 comment via boostagram or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. 189 00:13:09,470 --> 00:13:12,440 Tomorrow, we'll be poetry Thursday, and our reading will 190 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,330 be proverbs two and three. 191 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,760 Have a donation today from Derek Shack, who said in $20 today, 192 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,570 thank you, Derek, God bless you. I appreciate your support. Very 193 00:13:26,570 --> 00:13:31,280 much Lifespringmedia.com slash support. 194 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,170 I'm calling this new segment of the show "Essentials." And in a 195 00:13:41,170 --> 00:13:43,960 way I'm surprised it's never occurred to me to do this kind 196 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,490 of thing before. As you know, I began podcasting in 2004, after 197 00:13:48,490 --> 00:13:51,250 a time of prayer in which I was praising God for his many 198 00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:54,460 blessings. And I asked him if there's anything more I could do 199 00:13:54,460 --> 00:13:58,300 for him. And his answer was an almost audible proclaim My name. 200 00:13:58,930 --> 00:14:02,590 You can read more about that at Steve dot Lifespringmedia.com If 201 00:14:02,590 --> 00:14:05,680 you're interested. The point is I've been doing this for a long 202 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,010 time. I guess I haven't thought of doing this because it wasn't 203 00:14:09,010 --> 00:14:12,730 time yet. But God laid this on my heart this past week when I 204 00:14:12,730 --> 00:14:16,180 was listening to one of my favorite podcasts. The host name 205 00:14:16,180 --> 00:14:19,990 is Frank Turek and the name of the podcast is I don't have 206 00:14:19,990 --> 00:14:23,560 enough faith to be an atheist. The show I highly recommend By 207 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,340 the way, it's a show on apologetics. And if you don't 208 00:14:27,340 --> 00:14:31,000 know apologetics has nothing to do with apologizing. But instead 209 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,570 it's the defending of the faith by means of systematically 210 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,160 arguing for the veracity of our beliefs. It's being able to give 211 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,450 solid reasons for believing. And one thing that's happening in 212 00:14:43,450 --> 00:14:46,450 the church today that I find very disturbing is that many 213 00:14:46,450 --> 00:14:50,530 people are leaving the faith, especially young people. As 214 00:14:50,530 --> 00:14:54,160 Frank Turek says in the intro to his podcast, they don't think 215 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,760 Christianity is true. They're tucked out of it. You know why 216 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,220 they're tucked out of it? Because they've never been 217 00:15:00,220 --> 00:15:04,090 tucked into it. And as a parent of one of these who have left 218 00:15:04,090 --> 00:15:08,080 the faith, this hits me really hard. It makes me wonder if I 219 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,020 bear some of the blame for my son's abandoning the faith. 220 00:15:11,650 --> 00:15:15,010 Maybe I didn't do enough to instill in him the basis for why 221 00:15:15,010 --> 00:15:19,600 we believe that God is real. And that Jesus is who he said he is. 222 00:15:20,140 --> 00:15:24,520 Maybe I didn't train my son enough in the essentials. In a 223 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,400 recent episode of I don't have enough faith to be an atheist, 224 00:15:27,460 --> 00:15:30,850 an episode called Are you defending the faith or your 225 00:15:30,850 --> 00:15:34,390 faith, Frank was saying that some pastors, ministers and 226 00:15:34,390 --> 00:15:37,990 priests have rejected some of the essentials, and still refer 227 00:15:37,990 --> 00:15:42,070 to themselves as Christians. And he said that when you reject the 228 00:15:42,070 --> 00:15:46,510 essentials, you cannot honestly still be a Christian. And I 229 00:15:46,510 --> 00:15:50,830 agree with that completely. So I'm not going to make this show 230 00:15:50,830 --> 00:15:54,250 and apologetic show. The reason you listen to the Lifespring!, 231 00:15:54,250 --> 00:15:57,670 One Year Bible is to hear or read through the Bible. And that 232 00:15:57,670 --> 00:16:00,400 will always be the main thrust of this show. But I think that 233 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,910 this new segment of the show is a perfect complement to the 234 00:16:03,910 --> 00:16:07,360 reading of the word. Each Wednesday going forward, I'm 235 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,750 going to talk about one of the essentials, one of the linchpins 236 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:15,040 of what it is to be a Christian. Because over the centuries, 237 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,250 there have been certain things that Christians have believed 238 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:22,600 based on what the Scriptures teach. As an example, there's 239 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:28,360 one God. Another example is that Jesus was crucified, he died and 240 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,470 was raised back to life on the third day. We'll talk about 241 00:16:32,470 --> 00:16:36,940 these things in many more in this essentials segment. I want 242 00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:41,560 you to know what we believe and why we believe them. I want you 243 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,980 to be able to discern what is Christian and what is not when 244 00:16:44,980 --> 00:16:48,250 you hear it, I don't want you to be one of those who fall away, 245 00:16:48,250 --> 00:16:52,870 beloved. Now, I chose Wednesday as essentials day, because the 246 00:16:52,870 --> 00:16:56,920 show is usually fairly short on Wednesdays. Many of the psalms 247 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,640 are short, and I think we'll have time to do this. And by the 248 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,960 way, I would love to hear your comments on the discussions. Now 249 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,870 to get started, I'm just going to read for you what is known as 250 00:17:07,870 --> 00:17:12,310 the Apostles Creed. It's a summary of Christian beliefs or 251 00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:16,630 doctrine. The Apostles Creed in itself is not found in the 252 00:17:16,630 --> 00:17:20,170 Bible, and it was not written by the apostles. It was written 253 00:17:20,170 --> 00:17:24,340 about 150 years after all the apostles had died. But it's 254 00:17:24,340 --> 00:17:27,730 called the Apostles Creed because it distills what they 255 00:17:27,730 --> 00:17:31,240 taught in the scriptures. Today, I'm gonna read through the 256 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,900 apostles creed, with only a tiny bit of necessary commentary for 257 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:38,800 clarity. And we'll talk more about it next Wednesday. So now, 258 00:17:38,830 --> 00:17:43,660 without further ado, this is the Apostles Creed. I believe in 259 00:17:43,660 --> 00:17:48,730 God, the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, and 260 00:17:48,730 --> 00:17:53,200 in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of 261 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,670 the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under 262 00:17:57,670 --> 00:18:03,130 Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He 263 00:18:03,130 --> 00:18:06,700 descended into hell. There'll be commentary about that later, 264 00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:12,130 continuing. The third day he rose again from the dead, He 265 00:18:12,130 --> 00:18:15,220 ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the 266 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:18,910 Father almighty, whence he will come to judge the living in the 267 00:18:18,910 --> 00:18:23,500 dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic 268 00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:27,610 church, more commentary on that in a minute, the communion of 269 00:18:27,610 --> 00:18:32,290 saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, 270 00:18:32,470 --> 00:18:38,350 and life everlasting. Amen. Okay, commentary. Let's talk 271 00:18:38,350 --> 00:18:42,820 about the phrase, the holy catholic church. That's not the 272 00:18:42,850 --> 00:18:47,140 capital C Catholic. It's not the Roman Catholic Church that 273 00:18:47,140 --> 00:18:53,890 exists today. The word catholic, lowercase c means universal. It 274 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,580 refers to all the believers who have placed their faith in Jesus 275 00:18:57,580 --> 00:19:02,650 for salvation. This statement is saying that believers worldwide 276 00:19:02,860 --> 00:19:07,180 make up the church. That's what it's saying. Also the line that 277 00:19:07,180 --> 00:19:10,480 says that Jesus descended into hell need some explanation, and 278 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,200 we'll talk about that next week. And then following that, we'll 279 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,800 talk about the communion of saints. Now listen, I hope to 280 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,890 make this a valuable, interesting and faith building 281 00:19:20,890 --> 00:19:24,040 part of the show for you and please do let me know how you 282 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,400 feel about it or what do you think? I really do believe 283 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,310 though that going over what the essentials of the faith are is a 284 00:19:30,310 --> 00:19:32,260 very important thing for all of us. 285 00:19:36,230 --> 00:19:39,740 Praises and prayer requests. This praise comes in from Scott 286 00:19:39,740 --> 00:19:42,620 Snider, you might remember that he had a prayer request a few 287 00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:46,760 weeks ago for his wife Diana, and Scott says, we went to her 288 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:50,090 follow up colonoscopy and praise the Lord. The results were 289 00:19:50,090 --> 00:19:53,630 excellent. Praise be to God and blessings to the Lifespring 290 00:19:53,630 --> 00:19:57,320 family for the prayers. Praise the Lord. I'm so Happy to hear 291 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:01,190 that, Scott! Hallelujah. And another appraisal report is for 292 00:20:01,190 --> 00:20:05,180 Connor, who we prayed for about three weeks ago. He's the Down 293 00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:08,750 Syndrome boy who's the son of friends of Leanna and I, Randy 294 00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:12,950 and Lori. He was hospitalized in under an induced coma, and he's 295 00:20:12,950 --> 00:20:16,640 been in the ICU for three weeks so far. Listen to this report 296 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,450 from his mom, Lori. She said it's been exactly three weeks. 297 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:25,730 Wow. 21 days in the ICU so far. Tomorrow morning, Randy will be 298 00:20:25,730 --> 00:20:28,550 with Connor for a couple of days as they head back to work and 299 00:20:28,550 --> 00:20:31,760 home for a couple of days. It was hard to leave Connor today. 300 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:36,140 But believe it or not, he was all smiles. Today on rounds. 301 00:20:36,140 --> 00:20:40,490 They started using the term discharge plans. What Wow, she 302 00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:44,030 says there are more goals he needs to reach and sleeping is 303 00:20:44,030 --> 00:20:46,760 one of them. He's gone three nights so far without sleeping 304 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,780 for more than 20 minutes at a time, twice during the night. We 305 00:20:50,780 --> 00:20:54,830 are praying that sleep descends upon Him tonight. The wound team 306 00:20:54,830 --> 00:20:57,800 thinks that his pressure wound is actually beginning to show 307 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,430 signs of healing. He needs to get to a point that the sore 308 00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:04,820 will be manageable for the caring and very capable staff at 309 00:21:04,820 --> 00:21:08,120 Crystal Springs, which is where he lives now since they can't 310 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,390 care for him at home because of his needs. And Laurie says 311 00:21:11,390 --> 00:21:14,420 Please continue to pray for complete healing in this area is 312 00:21:14,420 --> 00:21:18,650 well. Connor still has a strong congested cough, but he hasn't 313 00:21:18,650 --> 00:21:22,820 required oxygen in three days as well. All signs that healing is 314 00:21:22,820 --> 00:21:26,750 coming. And then she closed with continued prayers for better 315 00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:31,160 days ahead with three exclamation points. So yes, God 316 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:35,750 is good. And then let's continue to pray for Bryan Duncan's wife 317 00:21:35,750 --> 00:21:39,170 Cassie, she has an intensely painful nerve problem on the 318 00:21:39,170 --> 00:21:43,160 side of her face from a nerve in her jaw. And she badly does need 319 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,950 surgery but they've got no medical insurance and the 320 00:21:45,950 --> 00:21:49,880 medications she has to take have some really terrible side 321 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,900 effects so she needs a miracle. Also, my dear friends Del and 322 00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:57,560 Kathi continue to need prayer. As I've told you, they live in 323 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,830 the Lake Arrowhead area about an hour from me in the mountains. 324 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:03,800 Well, they've had an ordinate amount of snow in those 325 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,860 mountains and the roads have been closed for many, many days 326 00:22:06,860 --> 00:22:10,550 now. They can't leave their home and she's out of her cancer 327 00:22:10,550 --> 00:22:13,250 medications. And even if they could leave their home, the 328 00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:16,430 pharmacy hasn't been able to get shipments because of the closed 329 00:22:16,430 --> 00:22:20,660 roads. They do have food but she needs her meds and she has to be 330 00:22:20,660 --> 00:22:23,780 able to get back to the city of hope for her cancer treatments. 331 00:22:23,810 --> 00:22:27,950 So let's pray. Our heavenly Father as the psalmist wrote in 332 00:22:27,950 --> 00:22:31,790 our reading today, how awe inspiring are your deeds, your 333 00:22:31,790 --> 00:22:35,330 power is so great that your enemies will cringe in front of 334 00:22:35,330 --> 00:22:38,960 you. The whole earth will worship you. It will make music 335 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,640 to praise you. It will make music to praise your name. Lord, 336 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,120 You are worthy of our praise and adoration which we offer to you 337 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:50,960 now. Father, we thank you for the good news about Scott's wife 338 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:55,310 Diana. Thank you that the follow up showed no signs of cancer and 339 00:22:55,310 --> 00:22:58,610 we pray that you would continue to keep both her and Scott in 340 00:22:58,610 --> 00:23:02,480 health. And it's so good to hear that Connor is recovering and 341 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,500 gaining strength Lord, Randy and Lori love him so very much and I 342 00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:09,410 pray that Connor would be able to leave the hospital soon and 343 00:23:09,740 --> 00:23:13,850 that there would be no complications. We pray now for 344 00:23:13,850 --> 00:23:17,660 Cassie, give her a miracle Lord so that she can get the surgery 345 00:23:17,660 --> 00:23:20,840 that she so badly needs or better yet, I pray that you 346 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,530 would touch her body and bring healing to this nerve. And we 347 00:23:24,530 --> 00:23:28,280 lift up Del and Kathi father, Kathi needs to be able to get 348 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,150 her cancer meds and get down the hill the City of Hope. We pray 349 00:23:32,150 --> 00:23:35,240 that the snow removal crews would quickly make their way to 350 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,750 their home. We thank you for the snow. We need the water here in 351 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,600 California but I pray that you would make a way for them to get 352 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,590 what is necessary. Another storm is predicted to come in Friday, 353 00:23:45,590 --> 00:23:49,520 but we pray that it doesn't bring more delays. And now 354 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,900 Father I pray for the Lifespring family. Bless them Lord, You are 355 00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:58,130 our provider, our shelter, our rock, our healer, our shield our 356 00:23:58,130 --> 00:24:01,730 strength, meet the needs of the Lifespring family, whatever they 357 00:24:01,730 --> 00:24:05,870 are, whether they be financial, emotional, physical, draw each 358 00:24:05,870 --> 00:24:09,740 of us closer to you, Lord, grow our faith. Make us more like 359 00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:14,450 you. Help us to walk with you every day. I pray this in Jesus 360 00:24:14,450 --> 00:24:18,770 name. Amen. Beloved, our next time of prayer together here on 361 00:24:18,770 --> 00:24:21,800 the show will be Sunday. If there's a praise we should know 362 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,260 about or if there's something you'd like us to pray with you 363 00:24:24,260 --> 00:24:27,530 about. Tell me about it on the Lifespring family Hotline at 364 00:24:27,530 --> 00:24:34,910 plus 1-951-732-8511 Or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. And 365 00:24:34,910 --> 00:24:38,060 please continue to pray for Cassie and Bryan and Del and 366 00:24:38,060 --> 00:24:38,510 Kathi. 367 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:51,210 Our show today is from Jason Paschall. Thank you, Jason. God 368 00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:55,320 bless you. And Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner, Scott 369 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,070 Snider and Brittaney they're the team and they do so much to help 370 00:24:59,070 --> 00:25:03,900 me go I bless you guys. And now until tomorrow, thank you for 371 00:25:03,900 --> 00:25:07,320 inviting me to be part of your day. May God bless you richly. 372 00:25:07,530 --> 00:25:16,440 My name is Steve Webb, fine Lifespring media, bringing the 373 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:21,390 message of hope, love and good news since 2004